Management Does Not Necessarily Follow Structure : A Reassessment of Chandler’s View on the Impact of Economic and Technological Factors on Management

Alfred Chandler’s work is of cardinal importance in understanding the emergence and growth of business corporations. Its central thesis can be summarized as follows : management follows structure, structure follows strategy, and strategy follows the dynamics of technology and markets. In a word, technology and markets, more than any other factor, shape a firm’s methods of managing. My research will attempt prove that, though the structure of a business enterprise can be conceived as a response to a given stage of technology and of market expansion, management cannot.